London!

I'm back :) Wrote the below over the past few days.. Few pictures though..

10 Mar 2006

Exciting!!! I'm logging every single little thing - be prepared.. But it's London so you'll read right? (Just entertain me and say yes :p)

Krisworld wasn't working at my seat, super bored for 13 freaking hours.. Wrote some thrash in my notebook, worse than the usual fluff here such that even I the writer couldn't understand when I reread them - so I shall not post. Nose was acting up in the confined space. Had a bit of diarrhoea 4hours before arrival - no I didn't have any excessive-consumption-may-cause-laxative-effect sweets like Na did once.. Slept a bit. Actually a lot. I slept through both take-off and landing - amazing how fast I could fall asleep cos as we were descending, I took some pictures of the clouds outside, and the next moment, I was shaken awake on contact with ground.



My favourite shot. Think clouds are a wondrous thing. They float like floss candy, some seem to flow by like wisps of horizontal smoke. I wish I were a giant and could reach out just to touch them to know how they feel.. And it was so cold outside there was frost..



Finally arrived at Heathrow and was saved from the customs queue by our London colleague who fast-tracked us through customs.

First accident: couldn't synchronise with the trolley and broke a toe nail cos I was wearing open-toed sandals. Endured the bit of blood for the next hour on the way to our hotel. In that hour, also learnt that LH had given birth to a 2.6kg baby boy! Congrats :) What tickled me was that she was sms-ing people within 3hours of giving birth, that's my boss man! Garang!

We drove into central London. For the longest time, I didn't know where we were until the lights of Harrods suddenly came into view. It finally dawned on me: I'm in London! Millennium Knightsbridge was right behind Harrods and I was delighted with my room! I know it's very sua ku of me but I took a lot of pictures cos I've never stayed in nice hotels before :p

Met YS for dinner at Convent Garden at 845pm. I was quite early, didn't know YS factored in some preparation time for me when he said it would take 20min.. My prep can be very fast *smug* Anyway, so while waiting, I called up Min-oppa, SL and Miki to arrange meeting times. There were some trishaws around - I've never seen them before but apparently they've always been there.

We had wanted to go to Belgo for mussels/ seafood; the place looked cool and smelled great but waiting time was 45-60min! I was getting famished so we left for another place. Ended up in Pasta Brown for some catching up until we had to catch the tube.

Oh, tube! I was so appalled when I saw the adult single in zone 1 cost £3!!! It was less than £2 when I left *.*

YS checked out my room and helped me find the switch of bedside lamps :p He also helped finish some of the complimentary fruits but refused the chocolates (cos I didn't help much with his gelato earlier, must be! :p) Btw, you have to stop harping on our age gap; you're also 26 this year even though you are born a good 350+ days after me!!



After a warm shower, I found to my horror that I couldn't log on to work! Had to register my room number after plugging in the cable but my laptop being security protected did not allow that until NetProtect could get a secure connection online. Chicken and egg =(

12 Mar 2006

It's freaking 325am and I can't sleep. I'm actually suffering from jetlag! Usually I don't with only 8hours' difference cos I can always sleep.. Maybe cos I have internet connection, something to do.. Seems to suggest that when I eventually get my little room, I'll be up most of the time :p

Anyway, yes, internet connection has been settled. Apparently, just a proxy setting: uncheck my usual proxy setting, set up NetProtect to check work mail, redo proxy check and I'm all ready to surf!

Left hotel for Buckhurst Hill - Supadance! - at 850am on Sat, fully expecting to get there by 10am. But you know, I was so lucky - no service between Woodford and Epping this weekend due to track works! And Buckhurst Hill was just one stop after Woodford =( I didn't know cos I had my Creative plugged in until after waiting for 30min.. Had to take a replacement bus from Woodford to Buckhurst Hill.

The lovely shop was some 500m uphill from the station. Heaven! I tried this and that and finally settled on a pair of maryjanes in flesh satin, size 6 wide fitting instead of my current size 6.5 regular fitting, and a pair of latin in tan satin, also size 6 but regular fitting. Also helped Sito get a pair of latin shoes and stocked up on heel protectors myself. The lady also gave me free brushes and sponge for cleaning patent shoes. Na was just saying (I'm on MSN now) that I must get her something too within her usual $50 budget! I may have a last slot of free time tomorrow pm. Hope to make my way to Oxford St..

Made it back into central London by 1pm, slightly late in meeting Min-oppa. Haven't seen him for 2.5years! We confirmed that we both still looked the same :p Went to a tea room Richoux near Harrods. Nice place but my pasta was tasteless - for the first time ever, I sprinkled salt over cooked food.. Had a great time catching up though but we didn't talk very long cos I had a recce at 3pm. Took this outside my room



(Despite looks, he's really older than me :p)

Recce took longer than expected so I was late in meeting SL.. Met at Bank and drove to Holborn for dinner at a very cozy Italian place Ciao Bella. Had this interesting pasta in greaseproof bag - they literally cooked it in the bag! The seafood serving was very generous and I couldn't finish though SL helped with all the mussels and some pasta. I felt like I had been eating too much the past two days, very full all the time. And I was OD-ing on pasta! Nvm, I like :p

Went to a housewarming party at a mutual friend's place; she just transferred to London for a short stint of 6 months. There were other mutual friends and familiar faces there, mostly from Oxford. It had really been such a long time man.. Many of them were in the finance industry and some consulting firms, people with crazy hours which explained the nice house, heh!

Oh, I was the 新加坡妹妹 :p And someone said I looked like Stefanie Sun. Strange, cos someone else said the same thing back in my MSc year.. But SL thought otherwise, he said I was more like Fann Wong! Kao! Don't think I look either, but well, to be said to resemble Fann Wong is quite flattering!!

Slept for a couple of hours before waking at 2am - couldn't sleep.. Caught up on some personal mail and blogging too.. But my eyes are starting to smart, think I shall try to get some sleep now..

Same day, 12 Mar 2006 but much later

The late night meant I woke a bit later today, 8am. Prettied up and decided to skip breakfast since I wasn't hungry. Sat down for some work until 10am when we were supposed to have an informal discussion with some students. Quite interesting though I wasn't the one talking; my two colleagues were way better in talking and addressing people, which was why they were in this job. Oh, I'm just helping out in this trip since I'm doing related stuff. Meeting was also quite long - I judge time by how soon I need to pee :p

Tubed to South Kensington for lunch - lazy, just one stop :p Had my fav chicken, mushroom and cheese panini, but the highlight of the whole South Ken trip was to get Ben's Cookies!! I was so excited but the experience wasn't too good actually. First of all, the salesgirl wasn't like the friendly people over in the tiny Covered Market stall in Oxford. And second, the cookies weren't warm enough! I must go to Oxford next time I come to UK!

No time for Oxford St afterall. Went from lunch to meet Miki at Harrods but the cafe (Laduree or something) was full so we went to Cafe Rouge just behind instead. This nee-chan seemed stressed, less bubbling than the last time I saw her but still, she's one of the most energetic persons I know. She's already making plans for an IB internship in NY and another internship or exchange in Shanghai, and all in this year! SL is also getting married in Shanghai this year. I'm very tempted to go.. Have to consult my bank statement..



So comfortable talking with her but had to run by 6pm to prepare for the dinner hosted by the big boss. I had thought and YX had confirmed that smart casual did not include jeans but the girls were wearing jeans so I did too. Turned out ok la, went to a typical Chinese restaurant in Bayswater - Mandarin Kitchen. Food was great but I wasn't hungry enough to have more than a few bites..

13 Mar 2006

Sore throat worsened after dinner last night; woke with a headache. Survived breakfast with the bosses but couldn't make the morning trip to the Singapore mission, which was sad cos I wanted to go look-see! Slept after two panadols and woke feeling better. Hence went for lunch at Zafferano just behind hotel. Posh posh but not too atas..

The key event was held in Millennium Gloucester. Did some last minute tweaking to layout that must have stressed out the poor event manager.. The event came and went - see news coverage in CNA and ZB. Think everyone was pleased with it, both the host/ organisers and the guests, many of whom queued for a Kodak moment with the big boss. But I barely survived it and skipped supper with my colleagues though I didn't have a single bite. Went back to room and crashed completely.

15 Mar 2006

I'm on the flight back now, just blogged - scroll down to previous entry if you haven't *mf glares* seen :p

Tues started at 7am when we set off for Manchester. The Midland Hotel looked grand, more so than Knightsbridge but Knightsbridge was in super prime area so more modern and less opulent.

I almost took something out of the fridge :p



And I've never seen this before, shoe mitt..



Had a quick lunch at OpusOne, a pub nearby, before checking out the function room. The group was smaller this round so things were settled very quickly. Of course it helped that the staff were very quick to respond to our requests to modify layout, yes, again.. Think it's hard to make money out of us, very demanding! :p

Went to Boots - Boots! - to get some lozenges with antiseptic for my throat. Had one, which totally numbed my tongue, before popping two more panadols. In fact, my head is still hurting now. Must get some water and down a couple more.. Perhaps I could then sleep and hopefully avoid jetlag..

Anyway, was surprised to see a junior from calligraphy at the event. She was there with her parents. At the London do, I didn't speak to people as I was covering other stuff but last night, I spoke to a number, though not all topics pertained to theme. Quite an interesting bunch of people..

The bosses left for supper while we hung around with the last few lingering guests. Someone said I looked like his tuition teacher who became a TV actress later. After a while, we realised he was talking about Evelyn Tan.. mf? Evelyn Tan? *pause* So is it Stef Sun, Fann Wong or Evelyn Tan??!


Source: Google search


Source: Google search


Source: Google search

Finally got back to my room at 11pm. Oh this was a bigger room, with a LCD or plasma TV - honestly can't tell the difference. Took a bath in the nice bathroom before packing my bags. Watched a bit of Dark Angel too. Like that show, but it was discontinued.

So this morning we left the hotel at freaking 5am cos we were flying out of London. Checked in with the boss so no queue. While they were settling the seats, I got my VAT refund settled - no queue. Went straight to SIA lounge to leave our stuff before popping out for some quick shopping - magazine for Kel, and a box of clotted cream cookies I passed by.

As I was waiting to pay, I realised something. You should already know that I don't buy souvenirs cos I think eg one good key chain is enough to last a lifetime. This trip was quite tight, I prioritised my free time for meeting friends and dance shoes. Bought Kel's Men's Health cos he specifically asked for that. Bought some cookies from Harrods while waiting for Miki. I'm afraid I have nothing for Na cos there was no time to browse for something cute. So, specifics are better for me. Does that further confirm my J in MBTI? :p

Made our way to the gate 20min before departure time. Walked quite a bit cos we were 33 gates away! Received a promotional in-flight internet prepaid card at the gate. We were received by staff to go into the aircraft - no queue again cos boss was with us. But of course, he went to his first class seat while we went to our business class and economy class. Don't bother asking - I'm in the economy :p Person in front has his or her seat inclined all the way so I'm quite squeezed here. But quite fortunate that this isn't a full flight, and we requested aisle seats for all of us on economy, AND blocked the two seats in the middle of the central row so there is more space for bulky me ^.^

16 Mar 2006

Sleepy.. Kel just came to take his magazine on his way back from somewhere. Otherwise I might still be sleeping :p

Couldn't replicate my work emails, quite pissed.. Nvm, there's tomorrow..

I came back this morning at 9 plus cos the flight was late by an hour. The last 30min of flight was interesting. First, a cute guy moved into the empty seat beside me cos he was sitting too far behind and he had to catch a connecting flight to HK where he would transit to Shenzhen. That was all we talked about cos the next moment, cabin crew shuffled us to first class so we could leave the plane early with the boss. My first time in the nicest part of plane! Actually it was just spacious la, a great relief cos my legs were so cramped for the past 13hours.

Took some photos as we landed. At first I saw only low buildings in the sea. Realised that the plane approached over Malaysia, looped over to Indonesia side before turning anti-clockwise to touch down in Changi. The low buildings should be kelongs? Cos when Singapore came into view, it was actually quite obvious; the high rise buildings and thousands of flats! Have never seen Singapore from this angle before..





For the first time, I was the 6th passenger to walk out of the plane :p We waited at the VIP complex for our luggage and hopped into cabs from there. My cabbie was very excited, saying that this was his first time picking up passengers from VIP complex :p But I was quite stoned from the two panadols I had while waiting. Cabbie had to call me 3,000 times as we approached tomato town before I woke.

Btw, the upgrading works are going well! Very happy to see the crushed concrete downstairs :p